The Kansas Army National Guard’s 891st Engineer Combat Battalion is headquartered in Iola and has been at Camp Sapper II since January. Staff Sgt. John Sheehan, an Iola resident and member of the battalion, approached the library about donating paperbacks for the soldiers.
Children’s Librarian Leah Oswald, who coordinated IPL’s effort along with Director Roger Carswell, told American Libraries, “Being the mother of two servicemen, I wanted to help in any way I could.” IPL donated books of all genres that would have been earmarked for the library’s annual book sale. In addition, “Sgt. Sheehan asked the men to bring one or two books with them, and they made a lending library through that,” Oswald said.
Oswald added that since a report on the library appeared in the June 7 Iola Register, many individuals are calling the library to offer help. “Other libraries in the system are also participating and donating,” she said. “I think they’ve had a lot of support from the area.”
“Sgt. Sheehan should get credit for it,” Oswald said. “He knew how important it would be for the men to have a chance for relaxation and a connection to home.”
The library contains more than 2,500 books, making it “probably the largest military library in southwest Asia,” Sheehan said. The library facility was built by members of the 891st Bravo Company, although the camp did have a library of sorts before its completion. A wooden footlocker, donated by Iola resident Andrew Dunlap, held the first hundred books IPL donated. The “Dunlap Library,” as the footlocker is called, is being used as a coffee table in the new library.
Posted June 10, 2005.